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. 2009 Mar;64(2):163-70.
doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbn034. Epub 2009 Feb 4.

Do older drivers at-risk for crashes modify their driving over time?

Lesley A Ross  1 , Olivio J Clay, Jerri D Edwards, Karlene K Ball, Virginia G Wadley, David E Vance, Gayla M Cissell, Daniel L Roenker, John J Joyce
Affiliations

Do older drivers at-risk for crashes modify their driving over time?

Lesley A Ross et al. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2009 Mar.

Abstract

Five-year driving habit trajectories among older adults (n = 645) at-risk for crashes were examined. Performance measures included Useful Field of View (UFOV). Motor-Free Visual Perception Test, Rapid Walk, and Foot Tap. Self-report measures included demographics and the Driving Habits Questionnaire. Longitudinal random-effects models revealed that drivers at-risk for subsequent crashes, based upon UFOV, regulated their driving more than the lower-risk participants. Restricted driving was present at baseline for the at-risk group and was observed in longitudinal trajectories that controlled for baseline differences. Results indicate that persons at-risk for subsequent crashes increasingly limit their driving over time. Despite this self-regulation, a larger sample of such older drivers was twice as likely to incur subsequent at-fault crashes. Results suggest that self-regulation among older drivers at-risk for crashes is an insufficient compensatory approach to eliminating increased crash risk. UFOV is a registered trademark of Visual Awareness, Inc.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Model-predicted, covariate-adjusted linear trajectories for driving frequency over 5 years, range 0–7.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Model-predicted, covariate-adjusted linear trajectories for driving space over 5 years, range 0 (not driving outside of an individual's neighborhood in the past year) to 5 (driving outside of the mid-Atlantic region in the past year).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Model-predicted, covariate-adjusted linear trajectories for driving avoidance over 5 years, range 10–50.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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